The Journey of 13
by GreenLevrance
Summary: The thirteenth disciple, the newest addition to the Disciples of Aernas. How did she get to join them, and what adventures await them? She will meet some unexpected figures, ultimately learning her connection to them. Rated T because logic is needed to fully enjoy the story.
1. Prologue

Here it is. My first fanfic to be published. Feel free to comment on it as much as you like. However, please adhere to the guidelines of commenting and reviewing to prevent any conflicts. Have fun!

Oh, one more thing. Rated T for the convoluted logic, and to make sure that the story isn't misunderstood.

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Some notes before the story (will be written as **A/N** at subsequent notes):

-An OC will be in this fanfic. You will meet her soon.

-I only own the OC and the plot of the story. All other characters and references belong to their respective owners. (This is because there are many references created by various amazing people in the story.)

-The points of view will alternate between first person (the OC's point of view) and third person as a know-it-all guy ('orang ketiga serba tahu' in Indonesian). You will be informed if there is a change of point of view, but take the default as first person.

-Couples exist in the story. But one common couple will be missing.

-The story begins after the events of Kounat's Collapse, with everyone back in their first jobs. And they remain in the age when the Chase was first formed (e.g. Elesis is 15, Jin is 17, etc.)

-Some characters may go OOC (out of character) due to their slightly different roles in the story.

* * *

-Prologue of Story-

"Healer Knights, new members of Serdin Military Force. To be bestowed a title of Healer Knight, one must have the supreme ability of healing and fighting."

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**A/N **What? Just that? Yes. Because this page actually exists to guide readers with the notes above. Don't worry, I'll type in the first chapter soon. Please let me study history for tomorrow first.


	2. It All Started with A Task

**A/N** Yay for first chapter! I don't think I need to outline the OC. I'll just leave it to you readers to discover what she's like.

Note: she's exactly the same as me, from her name to her personality to her fighting style.

I don't know how many pages of my agenda will be typed in this chapter.

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Arc 1, Chapter 1 – It All Started with A Task

I am the first Healer Knight of Serdin. New healer knights are born from healers who passed a test of fighting and healing themselves with their own mana. A group of new healers were being trained to become healer knights. They need to learn about all herbs to advance to their next lesson. I was tasked to collect herbs from Silver Land and Ellia because of the woods are not very friendly for healers, but only healers know all the herbs.

The Queen had announced my visit to Silver Land and Ellia and everything has been set up. One particular day, I departed from Serdin Castle. A parade was prepared to release the first healer on adventure. I traveled to Kanavan in less than one day, because thar particular day was nice and no monsters were around. The next morning, I was preparing to continue to Silver Land when there was a commotion.

"Are there any healers here?" Someone asked.

The person asking was carrying a sword and wore red armor. _He's a Ruby Knight_, I thought.

"I am a healer. Do you require assistance?"

"Thank goodness! Please come this way, quickly!"

He led me to the opening of the woods. There, several knights were holding an injured female knight.

"Please help our leader! She was looking for a missing knight when monsters swarmed after her!" All the knights said in unison.

"All right. Can you put her down? I need to look at the damage caused by the monsters."

They set her down and I found that the wounds were deep bruises, most likely caused by bumping Slimes.

"This should work," I flicked my hands over the bruises and they were gone.

"Thank you very much. I am pleased to meet you. My name is Elesis." The leader shook my hand.

"Miss Elesis? You're... the leader of Grand Chase?" She nodded.

"Just call me Elesis. We are in the same age, are we not?"

"I guess so. I am so honored to meet you."

"If the Grand Chase is needed again, I'll be sure to include you in out group." She added.

"Please give me a quill, some ink and paper. I need to write a lot of letters." The knight nodded and took out all the requested items. Then they left.

"We shall meet again, brave healer." She waved.

"Please call me Shanine." I waved back at her, and they trailed off.

"Shanine... that's a nice name!" She shouted before the Ruby Knights disappeared.

I continued to the forest, looking for herbs. I have always loved all the green aura of forests, which matches the color of my armor. The moist ground was really enjoyable to walk on and a lot of little animals caught my attention several times. Until I found a small, radiant multicolored herb.

"This is... What is its name... Never mind. I need to get some of them."

I was about to take out my herb daggers to cut those beautiful shrubs when suddenly a roar was heard.

_What was that? Is it a carnivore looking for a meal or something? I better caution. _My steps become considerably slower, to avoid getting myself into danger. I was always known as danger-prone, and I want to grow out of it. I decided to return the pair of small, green-hilted daggers, since I never fought with them and hard skin or animal bones will break them. I drew out a lance from the hilt on my left side. Then something came out of nowhere.

"What? An Orc?" I was shocked to find out that the beautiful forest contains a gruesome Orc. I slashed it to pieces with my lance before it could do anything. _My, I was shocked. This is the first time for me to execute a real full-blown attack. No wonder the Queen and the elders were reluctant to let me go._

"Never seen an Orc here before. What is happening here? There is nothing wrong with the mana. I guess it was lost." I imagined a lost Orc and took out my herb daggers. I remembered the elder healer saying "Herb weapons vary between healers, depending on their mana. And these daggers will serve you as your herb weapons. You must use them for herb-cutting only."

*switch to third person view*

Meanwhile, the Ruby Knights are back to their base.

"Miss Elesis, why are you so sure about accepting her into the Grand Chase?" A knight asked.

"She is the first healer that I have ever met healing deep bruises with a flick of her fingers."

"Well... I guess you are right, Miss Elesis."

*switch to first person view*

I had a lot of fun collecting those herbs. Some of them must be cut so that the stem is completely removed, as they are toxic. When I finished collecting them, the sun began to set. I walked to the town while enjoying the last rays of sun.

Then an unconscious person caught my eye. I hurried to him and checked his condition. His body was ragged by something sharp, yet it leaves more internal injuries than wounds visible to the naked eye. I was then I noticed two short hilts, the perfect size for a pair of daggers.

"He's from Silver Cross." I examined a mark on his arm. "But I can't leave him in this place. I'll check his mana condition."  
"He's good. There won't be unwanted incidents in the town, hopefully."

Then faint sound of footsteps were heard. To protect both of us, I teleported to the forest entrance. Then I carried him back to the hut which has been prepared for me.

It was early in the morning.

"Where.. where am I?" A voice broke the silence in the hut. I stopped organizing the herbs and approached a bed where the boy was lying.

"You're in the village." He then tried to sit down on the bed, but was forced to lie down.

"Can I move?" I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, you can. There is nothing to fear. Your skin has healed, but the internal injuries will take some time."

"H-how did you...?" He was shocked to find out his skin had perfectly closed, even his clothes were mended.

"It's the power of mana."

The boy's expression instantly changed, to one expressing awe.

"W-what are you? To be able to command mana with such power..." He replied, clearly in disbelief. I was surprised to hear him say that - most healers in the base did what I did to him much faster than me.

"My name is Shanine. I am a healer knight from Serdin."

"So... you're the person Elesis mentioned in her letter... no wonder she is really hyped to get you into the Grand Chase."

"You're a member of Grand Chase?

The boy nodded.

"My name is Lass. As you might have known, I'm from Silver Cross Town."

"It's obvious, actually. Well, first I wanted to apologize about something."

"What is it?"

"When I looked at your weapons' hilt, I first hesitated to bring you here."

"It's all right. People will never know about the true identity of Silver Cross Thieves if they don't know one of the members."

"By the way, how did you-"

Before I finished my sentence, both of us heard a growling sound. There was silence for a split second, until both of us started to laugh out loud.

"Boy, it must have been a long time since I was attacked!" Lass chuckled.

"Stop! Don't make me laugh again by that bear-like sound! Let us eat!" I exclaimed.

Then we cooked like crazy, tossing in spices like we're in a battle. But it turned out spectacular.

"What are you going to do after this?"

I pointed the herbs left on the table.

"Sort and process them to be carried to Serdin Castle."

"You sure are busy. Do you mind if I get some more sleep? I don't want to make you feel bad, but..."

I chuckled, looking at him disbelievingly.

"Go ahead. It's all right. You're still in the process of recovery, after all. I'm going to check on it before you sleep, is that fine with you?"

"Sure. By the way, thanks a lot."

"You're welcome, Lass.

The wounds were healing quickly. When I checked on him, the wounded area is only half the original wound when I found him. Then I continued with herb-packing and stuff until it was near sunset. I prepared a special surprise for dinner: one full of savory herbs. Who knows that those herbs were the ones used to speed up healing! After dinner, we had some time to chat.

"You say you're a member of the Serdin military?"

"Uh-huh. Why do you ask?"

"How's it like to be a soldier?"

"Exhausting."

Lass laughed at my response.

No, I'm serious. Especially if you serve more than one role in the force."

"Like a healer knight?"

"That is one of them."

"How does a person become a healer knight?"

"It's different for every person. But I'll tell you my own story."

"I was taken in as a healer when I found and healed an injured soldier in my town. The elders saw the potential in me to become a great healer. But I did not wish to be a healer who must be protected. I asked permission from the Queen to wield a weapon."

"And then you're given this?" He twirled my lance around.

"Not yet. I was tested in healing ability. They did not have qualifications at that time, so they tested the most difficult ability of a healer."

"What is that? The only thing I know about healers are their healing magic." I laughed out loud.

"Well, duh! The most difficult thing is to heal yourself with your own mana."

"How do you do that? A lot of healers died by doing that, from what I've heard."

"It's unexplainable. I'll try. Wait. Let me think..."

"Ok. So, basically a healer heals by using his or her mana to stimulate healing in others. What happens here is that you 'force' your own mana to speed up your natural healing ability. the more mana you have, the better."

"But I don't understand how do you force it to not damage yourself."

"Give me a small cut. I'll demonstrate it."

Lass looked at me confusedly. "You serious?" he asked worriedly. I nodded and gave him a smile.

"Just do it. It makes explaining a lot easier."

Then he cut me in the arm. I winced a bit before I showed him the wound.

"It's got a faint green glow on it. What's happening?"

"That's my own mana. Healers typically have a lot of mana that they tend to leak from wounds, but the leakage has a positive effect of enhancing the process of wound healing." Then a green glow appeared on my other hand.

"Healing yourself is actually the same as healing other people. But mana must be given at such small increments to prevent pooling. This pooling is usually the cause of death of healers trying to heal themselves."

"How much is one small shot of mana?"

I pulled his leg a bit.

"Ow! What are you doing?"

"This is called creating a very small wound. The amount of mana used to heal yourself is about the amount used to heal that small wound."

"I can't even see it." He laughed. "But I can still feel pain on it." I healed the wound and we continued on.

"When I get my daggers back, I'd like to have a spar with you, Shanine." I smiled.

"Well, sure. By the way, where are your daggers?"

"They were taken from me by the same person who left me there."

"Um... Silver Cross is in Ellia, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"How did you get here, Lass?"

There was silence before he finally spoke.

"It... was a long story."

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**A/N** I finally finished typing in the first ten pages of the agenda. This Saturday is well spent on a trip, so... sorry for not finishing it earlier.

Reviews, rates, comments, anything you wanna throw at me will be appreciated. With proper norm, of course. LOL.

Did anyone of you wondered why they are so close despite only been knowing each other for a short time? The next chapter will tell you why.


	3. Something You Didn't Know

**A/N **Sorry for the long note!

Edited chapter 1 to improve it with all the readers' feedback. Thank you so much! (But not all of them, for comparison with further chapters.)**  
**

Screw my mind, really. Since I'm used to too high levels of imagination in writing, and when writing, I didn't really pay particular attention to details, so many gaps were left in the first chapter.

After one day of contemplation and another review I have read, I have experimented with the feedback in the reviews, and will let the readers see how am I progressing. (I forgot that only I myself can understand what I wrote without further details, sorry about that.) Maybe it is more apparent in the lower half of this chapter. Which is why this chapter took so long. *bows in apology*

Oh my, I practically will laugh myself out for writing a story like this. Maybe you will too. Or I'm just too emotional and really wish this can happen in the real world (If you know me in the real world, I like Lass a lot.)

If you're sensitive to matters regarding products eliminated by normal humans, I'd recommend you to not eat while reading. It's not that sensitive, though, but I put a warning just in case. Enjoy!

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Arc 1, Chapter 2 - Something You Didn't Know

"You don't have to tell all of this if you don't want to." _Man, I can say that with a straight face even though I am tearing up inside, really wanting to know the story._

"It's nothing personal. Sooner or later you'll know anyway." He noticed my curious face. "And you can't hide your curiosity."

I blushed. "You saw right through me."

"One day Silver Cross was attacked by a mysterious power. It possessed a characteristic blue flame. All of the guild members were separated."

"Wait... blue flame? The blue flame of the Haros tribe?" He nodded in agreement.

_It's not like I've never heard of it before. But, oh well. I'll hear the rest of his story._

"The blue flame chased me to the other side of Ellia. Then this chase continues to Silver Land. And it was then someone got possessed by this blue flame and knocked me out."

"But why did the blue flame chase you?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"Ever heard about the Nightmare Circus?"

"That particularly wicked circus that was destroyed by a child for good?"

"Yes. Now, here is the truth..."

He sighed before continuing his sentence. I became more and more curious.

_What will he say? Will it be an answer of a question of mine that nobody can give me the answer?_

"I was the one who destroyed it."

"What?" His eyes started to well up. I moved closer to him and felt some moisture in my eyes too.

_I can't let him know that I'm going to cry too... but what can I do... being sensitive and emphatic has integrated me with this._

"It's just... so terrible. I hope you'll not hate me for this..." His speech became unclear due to him trying not to cry.

"No, I won't hate you for what you've done in the past. You're not prohibited to cry. I promise I will keep everything to myself until my last breath."

He started sobbing uncontrollably while telling me the story.

"I... am a half demon from a human mother and father from the tribe of the blue flame."

I gave him a glass of water to unwind before he continued his story.

"My mother noticed I have demonic traits as a child, and she cast me away. it was then Zidler, the Ringmaster of Nightmare Circus, found me. There, I was tortured in a way you could never imagine."

"One day, a mysterious power erupted from me in the form of blue flames, destroying all of the circus and they were send to the Underworld. A few years later, the Dark Queen Kaze'Aze used me as a vessel of hers and fought the Grand Chase. They defeated her for good and invited me to join them. But... I have never spoken of this to even one of them, for fear they will hate me for all those things that happened in the past..."

I gave him a hug, essentially shocking him.

"Say no more. The pain of being a half-demon, the frustration of possessing the blue flame... I too have experienced it all."

"Shanine... you're... a half-demon too?" He whispered, barely audible.

I tightened my hug. "Yes. I am a half-Haros too. in fact, if I"m not, my healing ability won't be as advanced as this."

_He answered it. That particular question I once asked my father. He really deserve a hug for that. I finally found one with the same fate as me. I can just burst with happiness any moment now._

His body began to relax and he hugged me in return. "Thank you." He whispered to my, ear the right volume to be missed by most people.

I whispered back to him. "You're welcome. My past maybe is not as tragic, but I do feel in real need to know that I'm not alone."

He kept hugging me tightly, tears rolling down from his eyes to my shoulder. I let him until he let go of me. he spoke something before he let go.

"Who is your father or mother who is a demon too... why did he or she follow Legis to Aernas..."

"Legis... he's my uncle. His younger brother Rendis went to Aernas to look for him, and I was born to him."

"So... we are cousins, then... Shanine, even though we are not fully related, please be a sister to me to give me support... these tainted 13 years of my life must not happen again..."

_13 years... he's younger than me. i thought he was older. _

"I only have 3 more years of experience, but I'll try my best to help you. Your essence is very pure, and I have no fear when I first met you. I believe with all my heart that, even though your past is mixed up, you'll be a blessing to Aernas, Lass."

"You've just met me less than a few days ago... how are you so sure about that? That I will not be consumed by it anymore?"

I desperately searched for an answer.

"To be honest, I don't know. But you seem to radiate an unknown, divine power. Then, when I learnt you are a member of Grand Chase, it became apparent that the silver-haired boy I met is not an agent of evil."

"Your story... tell me about that, Shanine."

"All right. It first started like this:"

"One day when I was a small child, I played with my friends. Then one of them noticed scales on my face. They shunned me because of that. Consumed by anger, a mysterious blue flame erupted from me and hurt them. I ran home to my parents before the blue flame can do anything more. My father was surprised to see the blue flame, but he cheered me up and taught me to use the energy to heal."

"So that's why you become a healer?" I nodded.

"I've never liked to see people injured and not in a state of well-being."

"Then when I was older, some injured knights are on my town and I healed them. They saw the potential in me and took me to the castle, first asking permission to my parents. There, I was trained to be a healer, but I feel the need to learn some fighting skills to defend myself."

"Why did you want to fight?"

"I hate being a burden, Lass. Just like you do. You never know how much soldier lives have been lost due to them trying to protect me."

"But you hid that so well... you look just like other girls." I looked at him in disbelief.

_Just like other girls? I was a secluded girl back then. That trait was never lost. How can he not notice it?_

"Not that well when you're surrounded by giant men with thick armor." He laughed.

"Well, not really giant men, since Serdin relies on magic."

"It's a metaphor. I mean, when you're low level and still needs guidance."

"But now you're the one guiding the others."

"Not really. You must see how naive and childish I am in battle." He smiled.

He reached out to give me another hug. "I'm so happy to have you as my cousin. You're really someone whom I feel has a great power. I don't care about any trait of yours that is deemed bad by other people. Without them, you won't be who you are now."

"Me too." i ruffled his silver hair.

_A person just like someone so close to me. Having lost my mother, who protected my father when our house was attacked by people wanting to exterminate demons, he's the only person to ever say that. And now there are two._

"I don't know how can I repay for all of your good work." I asked myself why would he need to.

"You don't have to. I don't expect people to repay for what I've done. I do this because I want and love to do it."

Then he stood up. I followed him. Turns out it is time to call the day off.

"Will you be asleep anytime soon?" I shrugged.

"After I've prepared something for tomorrow, I guess. You can sleep first. It's nighttime already."

"All right. Good night, Shanine. Let's have another exciting discussion tomorrow."

"Good night! Be well soon! We'll retrieve them after that!" I waved, while holding my note book.

I put the book on the table and took out some other notes, a mortar and a pestle. I opened my note and read a recipe which boosts the general wellbeing of a person.

_This recipe should be available for use. But i still wonder, why am I not allowed to give this until the recipient's wounds are almost healed? _

I continued reading and found a footnote. It read "Like the warming candy, this recipe contains herbs which can trigger chemical reactions in the recipient if he or she is not well enough. It mainly affects the alimentary canal, ultimately causing the person to throw up."

_So that's why. I forgot about the crazy properties of the rare multicolored herb. Nicknamed the Loliza, they are really amazing to increase energy production and keeping warm. Oh, come on, brain. Why did you forget about this?  
_

_To think of it, my mind seem to be preoccupied by something. I wonder what it is... will I find the answer soon?_

After preparing everything, I changed my clothes (actually, I removed my armor only, the inner clothes are suited for casual way in the house). Before climbing to my bed, I glanced at the other bed. There, Lass is already asleep, but in such an awkward position. Driven by my curiosity, I checked on him. I found out some random contractions on the muscles near his wounds, but they didn't seem odd. So I just infused them with a bit of mana to help them from over contracting.

*switch to third person view*

It was morning.

"Is it morning already? She's not awake yet. Something's happening, but I don't know what it is. What did she do last night?"

*switch to first person view*

Turns out Lass woke up before I did. Then he noticed me moving and I woke up.

"Morning, Shanine." He greeted me with eyes half-closed. I laughed at his face.

"Morning! Your face is so funny!"

I gave him a mirror. Half of his face was red due to contact with the bed at a pressure. He laughed.

"My, my. I have never seen my face like this."

Then we prepared breakfast in a 'war-style' again, this time using entirely weapons to cut and serve the food! it was my idea, actually, since he took a liking to my daggers and mentioned "these are more suited to cut vegetables rather then flesh." I replied "then, why don't you cook with them?"

"What are you going to do after this?"

"I'll have to process some herbs to make them last long. How about you?" He rolled his eyes.

"I don't know. Seriously. Do you have any ideas?"

"Why not read something?" I took out a blue book. He opened it and facepalmed.

"You even took down notes about fighting lessons?" I laughed out loud. I know that fact is weird, but I love taking down notes.

"I take notes for everything. As a reference if someday I forgot how to do a particular thing. Being forgetful isn't good for a healer, you know."

"Seriously, how can you forget how to fight? Never mind. I'll read this."

He started reading after breakfast, on the bed. When I finished cleaning up the utensils and others, he was already asleep, his hands still holding the book. I laughed and fixed his position.

"Guess reading's not for you, Lass." I laughed silently. _I don't think he fell asleep because of the notes. Seriously._

I took the book from his arms. That blue book contains memories when I first joined the military. Memories of how clueless I was at first. I kept it on my table and started processing herbs, grinding them and packaging them in convenient packs. They were enchanted with mana to increase their potency.

I was making a mashed mixture of herbs which will be used in lunch as a garnish when I found out one particular herb needed for it has run out. So I left a note on the bedside table, locked the door with mana and left to gather the missing herb.

*switch to third person view*

"..."

"She's not here. Where did she go? Wait. There's a note here." He read the note.

"I'll be going out for a while to gather some missing herbs. I'll be back before lunchtime." -Shanine R.-

"I guess I'll be alone for a few hours now." He wondered what to do. Suddenly, he felt something wrong. He curled up on the bed.

"It's happening again... just like last night. I guess she noticed." His hands were clutching his stomach tightly, and he didn't move until a few minutes has passed. "I have to ask her about this..."

*switch to first person view*

Meanwhile, I was on my way back to the village when an elder spotted and greeted me.

"Greetings, young healer. I assume you are not from Silver Land?"

"I am from Serdin, sir."

"Oh, good. It must be my student who taught you about healing."

I was dumbfounded.

"You're... are you the master healer of Silver Land?" I stuttered.

"Why, yes. But I don't want to help prolong a war by keep serving the military. I decided to help people of Silver Land using my skills."

We talked about random topics all along. He clearly showed mastery in healing. I was only a dot compared to him.

I learnt something new - that herb weapons are actually usable in battle, so long it does not take someone's life. Then we parted.

*switch to third person view*

The feeling he endured only lasts for a short time, before it finally disappeared. He was looking for something to do. Then he noticed two other books on my desk. The green one was open, and he began reading it, only to find himself confused.

This is what he read:

-heart rate: ±75 bpm.  
-b.p. : 115/80.  
-condition = damaged area : 1/10 of original.  
= postprandial abnormalities - absent.  
= hemorrhage - absent.  
= side note - random contractions near damage.  
-time : 21.30.

He decided to turn over the pages. In the beginning of the book were all sorts of notes about herbs. Then he peeked into the red book and found battle techniques and weapon usage guides.

*switch to first person view*

Then I entered the hut and found out that he was reading my books.

"Sorry if I'm not allowed to read them!"

"No, you can read them all you want. They are not diaries, no secrets are inside I want to apologize if the terms are too medical. And most of the notes in the green book, besides the herbs, are just random babbles about the GI tract."

"I'll ask you about all the terms later. But, why GI?"

"I turn crazy when I encounter a problem involving it. For reasons I don't even know!"

I checked on the kitchen. I left something to steam before I left, and it's done. I looked at the clock and it is ten minutes to noon.

"Actually, I also wanted to ask you about-"

"This." I turned around and saw him lying on his bed.

"How did you-" I approached him.

"I wanted to ask you about this too. This actually started last night."

I helped him get in a comfortable position for both of us to talk and for me to check on him.

"Can I give you a check while you speak?"

"Sure."

"Ok. You can start now."

"After what happened last night, I tried to sleep, but keeping my mind from straying away is hard. It's like someone is watching my mind. Then I started to feel pain in my stomach, like what is happening now."

"Indescribable. isn't it?" I felt a surge of warm energy going through me. _Here they come... the feels I get every time I meet a problem like this. _

"Yes."

"Then, what happened after that?"

"The next thing I felt was a comforting warmth. That feeling secured me a bit, then I fell asleep. Were you giving me a check at that time, Shanine?"

"Yes, I was. Because you're asleep, but your position suggests you are in pain."

"I really was in pain." He smiled weakly. "It's better now, but I don't feel well yet. Do you have any ideas?"

"I have, and I'm going to correct it. But, I must give you a warning - you might want to run right after I finished."

"I'm ready."

Then I moved my hand on him, controlling flowing green energy. When I finished, I instantly yanked myself off him. And he ran as fast as he could. Agony is apparent in his face, but I believed that the look on his face will soon change.

I decided to prepare lunch. Suddenly, a loud shriek was heard.

_What happened? I was shocked until I nearly dropped a plate! I have never seen a situation like this. To think that the stasis hides a terrible problem..._

I swallowed up the thought that he was in need of help, believing that this is for the best.

_Please make this situation better soon... I don't know how much I can prevent myself from bursting now._

Then I fell. With a heavy feeling on my back.

"Why did you-"

"What did you do? What happened?"

"I can't explain if you're still on my back!"

"Forgive me." He got off my back and helped me up.

"Here's what happened. So normally a person can achieve evacuation without noticeable pain or discomfort. For no apparent reason, one of the parts of yours went into stasis - in other words, cease to move. What I did was simply initializing movement there."

The next thing I know was I was desperately gasping for air.

"P-please loosen up!" Realizing he had hugged me too tightly, he loosened up.

"I'm sorry. This is because of what you did. You really care for someone who need your help. I don't want to know how many times you deserve-"

"You're welcome. I know what do you want to say." I hugged him back.

_I'm really sure that I did this not just out of pity or a realization of our relationship. Is this... what my father taught me what love is? And to think a person with such a terrible background can act this affectionate towards me, who has a better story... is he feeling the same as what I feel? Why does he think I deserve affection? _

Believing that the answers to these questions will come as time passed, I ignored them at that moment.

"I suppose we can have lunch on the floor." I brought the plates down.

I tried a bite of the steamed fish, to check whether it was a failed experiment like last time I cooked it or not.

_This time, the steam was done perfectly. Even though I mixed in some herbs awful for the taste buds, their taste is barely noticeable. Maybe it was because I let it steam for too long? _I looked at the surroundings.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted. _Oh, no. Something's wrong with him. His expression gives way. But I can't possibly expect him to answer a question... I guess I have to find the answer by myself. _I approached him.

"You're so sensitive." He looked at me, who was trying to find out what made him lean on the wall at such an uncomfortable angle. I turned a bit red.

"I never meant to disrupt your privacy, but I can't tame my curiosity that well." And I gasped. "Oh my, your face is the same color as paper!"

_Wait. His skin tone is pale. I need to make sure I'm not hallucinating that the blood flow to his face is reduced. _I blinked a few times. _No, I'm not. _

After that moment he lied down, placing his upper body on my lap. I felt burning heat emanating from him.

"You may be right... it suddenly gets cold..."

_Of course everything become cold to him. He can leave burns on my skin with such heat radiating from him. _I pulled out a coat I always carry from my bag and put it on him.

"Maybe this question is redundant, but can I?" I prepared to find out what was happening. He replied with a weak nod, but showed a bit of resistance as pictured in a 'guarding' pose. _What caused him to exhibit abdominal guarding? These things are making me just more curious._

A simple scanning shows too many points of interest that cluttered my head with a rough picture of the condition.

_All right. Let me get this straight. What I found was a quite abnormal level of acidity. With some bubbles of unknown gases trapped in chyme. And an important side note - his stomach was abnormally relaxed. Wait. That means... _I gaped. _He may be feeling terribly nauseated right now. And I sure hope things won't get more complicated._

I decided to listen to my feelings this time, and took out a cylinder container which has always functioned as a bucket.

I felt him moving as if he was trying to tell me something.

"Please turn around..." He said that sentence with a voice barely audible. I turned around. Then I heard sounds of some forceful expulsions of matter.

_What I thought was right._

I can't resist the urge to face him once more. Not caring what will happen, I turned around once more and started sweeping a few gentle, upward strokes on his back. I realized that he asked me to turn around because I was in the middle of eating lunch. But I can't possibly ignore him, especially since a lot was coming out.

Then he slumped on the floor, with his eyes locked on my face. That azure glint is enough to stir up my empathy to the point I could cry any moment.

_No. I can't cry now. I need to do the best for the situation. _I got up and pulled the entire case of herb powder on the table. Along with some water. _Time for some random mixing. _

_First I needed to make something to nullify the taste of the strong acid. Then I need to find out if he needed further assistance or not. _

I first helped him to lean on the wall for the time being. Then I mixed some fine blue powder into a small glass of water and ask him to use the mixture to just rinse out his oral cavity. And after that he directly grabbed a glass nearby and literally cleaned it up in a split second. _Luckily I put on the white powder into the water I was supposed to give him to drink first. I didn't expect this. Seriously. _

The blood flow to his face seemed to be restored. One part of my heart was relieved to see that.

"Sorry for not telling you earlier." His azure glint was more refined by now.

"Don't worry about that. Everything has ended well, at least." I tidied up my black locks which were covering my face.

Then I resumed eating my lunch. He did as well.

"By the way, you weren't affected? I mean, like feel gross or something?" I shook my head while laughing.

"No. I don't see those events as gross or something dirty. It may be messy, but it's something natural."

"You're right, but-" He stayed still.

_He's feeling something again. _I approached him to see what was going on more closely.

"It's still here." I was confused. "What?" I asked him with worry. He pulled my hand to the right side of his stomach to let me examine it.

"I really hope I can explain the details, but I can't. I can only explain a sensation as if you're stabbed with something here."

_A stabbing pain particularly on the right side of the stomach if you view the person facing towards you is typical if there is a wound on the mucosal layer. But I didn't find any wounds inflicted there when I first met him. Maybe... _

I need to find out more. I must use mana to scan through. But I was a bit worried since his mana resistance was low. I decided to do it anyway, letting mana flow at a lower rate than normal.

"Wh-what did you do?" He responded, and I know for sure because the pain intensity was increasing due to mana being applied on him.

"I have to do this. If you need to grasp something, grab my left hand. And just relax for now." I tried my best to give him a reassuring look.

"Just hold on for a moment... it won't be long."

"I'll try."

The next few seconds, I can barely feel my left hand.

_I guess he can barely feel his stomach after this. His right hand was tightly gripping it._

I can hear his barely inaudible cries of pain, which I wished I can't hear them. Those words reduced me to tears, but I tried my best to swallow them up.

_No. Just a little more. I can't let him down._

"Are you done?" I nodded at him. Then he released my hand.

"You're right... it doesn't tear me up as much. But why did that feeling of pain showed up?" He questioned curiously, even though still showing signs of weakness.

"Mana resistance concept plays a key part in pain perception. It is lower in damaged cells than in healthy ones, and emotions such as anxiety or fear lower it further. Lower mana resistance can cause excessive pain perception." I explained. Then I remembered something.

_Now's my chance to ask this important question. I remember some warmth candies were out of the case last night. They contain Loliza in them. And one case of accidental consumption of Loliza has produced symptoms similar to his condition._

"Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Did you happen to eat one of the candies on the table?"

He remained silent for a moment. Then he nodded in affirmative.

"Should I not eat that?" His faced revealed regret.

"Well, the answer is rather complicated. It actually is safe to eat, but it contains an extract of a quite potent herb. This herb can react with excess acids due to it being basic in nature. The reaction produces gases. If this happens in the stomach of a person, it can cause discomfort and attempts to evacuate the excess gaseous products, which you did earlier."

"So that's why. I'm sorry to bother you with something which should not happen." I laughed.

"You shouldn't say that. To be honest, I feel a deep sense of pity in one side, but I enjoy dealing with those matters on the other hand. Oh, by the way, how do you feel? I mean, a small wound was dealt due to the reaction. Does it hurt?"

"Yes, a bit. It feels like the stabbing pain I described, but at a much lower intensity." He placed one hand on his stomach and gently caressed it.

"Good to hear that. I thought it would be much more painful than what you told me." I took out a red powder with a sugary texture to be mixed with water.

"What will you make with that red-colored sugar?" He plainly asked. I laughed when he said 'sugar'.

"This is not sugar. It is used to make a weakly alkaline solution to be taken orally. Wounds don't heal well in acidic conditions." He clearly was curious with the solution made with that 'sugar' - since he literally just swallowed a glass in one gulp.

_My heart is at peace to know that he will soon be well. I want to spend more time with him, but not when one of us is not well._

I was kind of spaced out when I feel my body was being pulled. Then I was lying on someone, with arms wrapped tightly around me.

"Honestly, Shanine, you're like a sister directly related to me."

"Honestly, Lass, I'm not as gentle as sisters should be."

Then we looked at each other with a confused face. We laughed out loud after that. Who knew we would use the exact same pattern of speaking?

"But thanks for the compliment." I added between my laughs.

"Now that everything has been taken care of, I believe we can retrieve the daggers tomorrow." He suddenly brought up that topic.

"Well, sure. I'll help you."

"And one more thing. Continue your story, Shanine. How did you become someone with this level of skill."

"All right. Let's continue. Is the last point when I was tested in ability?" He glanced at the ceiling.

"I believe it is."

"In the test, I was purposely wounded by the healers. They tested how long could I stand with the wounds and the time taken to heal them. It was not an easy test. But in the end, my results were regarded as a distinction. They approved my request for wielding a weapon. At first, I was trained in magic, since the mana manipulation concept is similar. Which is why you can see me teleporting short distances and conjuring fire balls." I showed him one fire ball. "Though I usually manipulate water and thunder."

"Wait, if you were trained in magic, you had a staff, didn't you? Where is it now? How did you meet your lance, then?"

"The staff is in the base. My skills with it wasn't as perfect as a magician's, since I met the lance before I finished learning all the secrets about the staff. I first met the lance because I got lost in the base." Hearing that, he laughed out loud.

"You're not good in directions, are you?" I blushed. "Not if it's maze-like. But I can manage it if it's not too complicated."

"When I was lost, I ran into the armory and turned crazy, trying all the weapons there. The lance suits me the best, with the sword being a close second. Then one soldier found me and saw what I did with the lance. He brought me to the Queen next day. He was the person who made the weapon masters agree to train me in wielding the lance. I was really grateful for his kindness."

"Now I'm really curious in your fighting style." I thought for a moment.

"Imagine a girl with quite a large build and as tall as you thrusting and kicking foes, occasionally slashing at foes as if her weapon were a sword. And sometimes the attacks become much faster, especially if I was shocked by the existence of a foe. Maybe 'panicked' was a better word to 'shocked'."

He imagined it and laughed. "Looks funny to me, seriously."

I didn't realize that it was evening already. What made me realize that was the fact that hunger had consumed a part of the souls of people in the lively hut. We practically battled to make dinner (some kind of food war) and enjoyed it. After that battle the two of us can barely keep our eyelids open and we decided to call the day early.

_Something's in my left knee joint. I think it's nitrogen bubbles again._

I kicked out the air to let the knee flex out and the nitrogen bubble inside did burst, with the sound of a loud crack.

"What was that?" The ever familiar sound to me shocked Lass out of the blue.

"It's nothing serious. Just cracking a knee joint." I smiled at him.

"Does it hurt?"

"Yes, but don't worry. My left knee is more prone to overstraining due to a long walk, and that's the result of such after effects of joint fatigue."

"Seriously? Let me see it." He came over to my bed to get a closer look. He was examining my knee when he suddenly fell down to the bed.

"Is something wrong?" I let him lie comfortably on my bed. He gave me an affirmative.

"It's that particular region again... it kind of hurts right now..." I immediately knew what he was talking about.

_Luckily just 'kind of.' Most likely due to muscles. _I scanned to find out my guess was correct.

"What you feel is perception of pain from refined muscle movements. Nothing else is wrong." I gave him a smile.

"You mean... this is an inevitable consequence of recovery?" I nodded. The bright azure glint of his eyes dimmed.

_He was quite desperate with constantly experiencing things that potentially make me worry. I have to do something. Oh, right. I remember what an elder say - some parts experience accelerated healing when subjected to affectionate physical touch._

I placed my right hand over his hands, which were resting on his midsection. His hands gave way, and I started to give him a light rub. My face was turning red. _Oh my, I feel like I'm giving a dog an affectionate belly rub. _

"What did you do? It feels really good." He smiled, with his eyes closed.

"I didn't do anything except sweeping a few strokes." His eyes opened wide.

"Seriously? You have a healing touch, then." I shook my head.

"Of course not. This is using psychology in healing."

_The feels are coming to me again. The emotional pressure of witnessing him suffer is trying to leak out. I guess I can let it go now._

He then got up. I spontaneously hugged him. I could not even control my eyes anymore. I cried. I knew he was utterly confused to find out that I was crying.

"Why do you cry?"

"I have always wanted to cry since I witnessed your suffering."

"It's not like you're the one to blame, you know." He tried to stop the flow of tears by hugging me back.

"I honestly am not the person I have always wanted to be. Why do I have to be so sensitive? Why do I cry every time I get angry? Why can't I make everyone happy? I must achieve perfection in my own terms. I know it's not possible, but those desires persist."

"One. If you're not sensitive, you will potentially miss out on people who need your help. Two. It shows that anger is actually not needed and you despise anger. Three. Because in order to take, someone must give. And the last one, if you look for perfection, it has already been in you."

_A fuzzy explosive feeling was felt on my entire body. What... is this feeling?_

"I have long withheld what I needed to say to you the most. I'm very sorry for everything which hurt you, but... I honestly love you."

_So this is love. It matches the description I received from my father. He felt it too. _

"I love you too." I replied, trying my best to look at him in the eye. He wiped out my eyes.

"You seem to have returned to your common sense."

"I'm sorry. I was completely overtaken by emotions that I lost all control of myself before you answered all the doubts I have."

Then both of us had fallen on that one bed, without any consciousness remaining.

* * *

**A/N **Yay for lots of my favorite topic! (call me weird, but I'm a maniac of gastrointestinal problems and such.)**  
**

I can't make a list, can I? Sorry for the awful format and terms. Being a student with biology as her favorite has turned both her and I into bio geeks.

And turns out this chapter is posted on May 3 (GMT+7), which means that after this chapter both Shanine are officially 16. LOL.

Bombing me with reviews will very much be appreciated. I will regard them as birthday presents. And in this new year I'll be sure to keep on learning new things about fanfic writing!


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